It was only fitting that members of the New Berlin Eisenhower defense -- lineman Max Tippel, linebacker Mike White and defensive back Peter Katris -- were left in charge of carrying the championship trophy.

Often overshadowed by a high-powered offense, the defense of the Lions has shut down league opponents in a dominant run through the Woodland Conference

Eisenhower wrapped up its first conference title since 2009 with a 45-14 rout of previously unbeaten and Woodland East champion Whitnall on Oct. 12.

The Lions have yet to trail this season and won their eight Woodland Conference games by an average of 37.6 points. Their slate of wins included victories over perennial powers Greendale, Wisconsin Lutheran and Pewaukee.

“I don’t know what to attribute that to,” Eisenhower coach Matt Kern said. “I knew coming into the year we’d have a nice team. I certainly wouldn’t have predicted this in terms of scores throughout the season.

“It has been gratifying seeing the kids continue to grow and get better. There’s really been no challenge we have put in front of them they haven’t been able to handle.”

Defense gives offense its chance

After surrendering 27 points to Plymouth in a nonconference game to start the season, the Lions have allowed just 49 points (6.1 per game) in eight Woodland games.

Eisenhower's defense allows the offense to get out to an early lead, as all 49 of those points have come with the Lions up at least 31-0.

Against Plymouth, the Lions led, 21-0, before allowing a score. They have not allowed another first-half point this season.

"We try to overprepare so we can make it look easy on Friday nights," senior inside linebacker Joey Lang said. "So far it has been. We know it is going to get a lot harder, but we are ready."

The 14 points Pewaukee scored on Eisenhower came against the second unit with the Lions already up, 31-0. Wisconsin Lutheran was down 41-0 before it cracked the scoreboard for 14 second-half points.

Eisenhower then rattled off four consecutive shutouts, holding Greendale, New Berlin West, West Allis Central and Pius XI off the scoreboard.

The scoreless streak extended to 19 quarters -- 238 minutes, 12 seconds to be exact -- before South Milwaukee scored in the fourth quarter with Eisenhower up, 35-0.

"We took a lot of pride in that," Tippel said. "Our main goal is to keep the other team out of the end zone so we can keep the offense rolling so they can score points every time they have the ball."

Whitnall mustered just 74 yards of total offense in the first half and did not find the end zone until there was 2:45 remaining in the third quarter, a score that cut Eisenhower’s lead to 38-7.

"We ask a lot out of them just in the minutiae of tackling and stance," Kern said. "Those things could be easy to overlook given the scores of our game, but to their credit, they haven't.

"The biggest thing that we have been able to do is not big up big plays. We'll give up four yards here and there and a few first downs, but not allowing big plays has been the biggest reason for their success."

White and Tom Counsell each had two sacks against the Falcons, while Lang added another.

Lang leads Eisenhower in tackles with 57, followed by lineman Mark Shields with 56, White with 48 and inside linebacker Nathan Doss and Tippel with 36.

"With our defense, everybody plays to the whistle," Lang said. "We are all ganging up on the ball. There's never a play where there aren't five people hustling to the ball. That really shows.

Big battles ahead

The Eisenhower offense can control the game in a variety of ways, such as Jack Himmelspach and Jake Belongia running behind a strong offensive line or quarterback Bryce Miller flinging through the air to targets like Stephen Halusan.

Mix in a defense that held the top three rushers in the Woodland Conference to a combined 266 yards and the top two passers outside of Miller in the league to 316 yards and Eisenhower is a true state championship contender in Division 3.

But in order to make this a truly special season, the Lions must find a way to beat top-level competition outside the Woodland. Eisenhower has not won a playoff game since 2011 and is 9-15 in the postseason since winning back-to-back state titles in 1995-96.

"For me, what you look for now is do you have a number of things you can fall back on depending on the style of game," Kern said. "If we get into a game where we need to throw the ball, I think we can do that. If it is a bad weather day and we need to run the ball, I think we can do that.

"We can stop the run effectively. We've handled the passing game successfully. What I feel most excited about entering the playoffs is there's no style of game you look at and say, 'Oh boy, we'd struggle with that.'"